That's when the waves swept Christian overboard, along with the Bounty's captain and another crew member early Monday, Coast Guard Vice Adm. Robert Parker told CNN. That crew member made it to a lifeboat; Christian's body was found on Monday evening. Capt. Robin Waldridge remains missing.

Christian, 42, often said she was related to Fletcher Christian, the 18th-century sailor blamed for leading the infamous mutiny on the real HMS Bounty.

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Raw video: Rescue from sunken HMS Bounty

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High-drama rescue on the high seas

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High-drama rescue on the high seas02:52

Photos:Sandy sinks 'Bounty'

Photos:Sandy sinks 'Bounty'

Bounty replica sinks – A replica of the HMS Bounty sank in the Atlantic Ocean in waters roiled by Hurricane Sandy on Monday, October 30, 2012. Of the 16 people onboard, three were washed overboard. One is confirmed dead, one was recovered safely and Robin Walbridge, the replica's longtime captain, was still missing. The other 13 people onboard were recovered safely.

Bounty replica sinks – The ship was built for the 1962 film version of "Mutiny on the Bounty," starring Marlon Brando, and appeared in the 2006 blockbuster "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest." It was once owned by America's Cup winner and CNN founder Ted Turner, who acquired it in 1986 along with the rights to the MGM film library.

In May, Christian won a deckhand job on the Bounty replica, which was built for "Mutiny on the Bounty," a 1962 film starring Marlon Brando. The tall ship also appeared in several other movies, including Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean" films.

She boasted about the Bounty and her new assignment to her friends and family, describing the ship as a "sailing museum" on her Facebook page. On Twitter, Christian announced "I am in love with my ship ... BOUNTY"

Seeing it as an opportunity to share "our ship and our history," she posted, "I'm sure my ancestor would be proud..."

The ship, she hoped, would begin more efforts toward educating schoolchildren, she told reporters.

Christian may have been a sailing novice, but she was no stranger to adventure. A former Miss Teen Alaska, she decided to start her own business at 17 and headed to California, as she describes on her Cheerleader Doll Company website, "fresh out of Alaska and on my own in the Big City of LA."

Once there, she attended the University of Southern California where friends tweeted that she performed as a "USC Song Girl."

Christian's interest in the Bounty began after she toured a replica of Christopher Columbus' Nina on the Arkansas River last year, Saulsberry said.

The Bounty tragedy began when the ship, which was sailing from Connecticut to St. Petersburg, Florida, reported Monday that it had lost power and was taking on water about 125 miles off North Carolina.

Water poured in through the hull of the 50-year-old wooden ship, the Bounty's owner, Bob Hansen, told CNN affiliate KUSA. "They just couldn't stay afloat anymore," he said.

Early Monday, the U.S. Coast Guard staged a daring helicopter rescue: They flew into the hurricane's outer bands and plucked 14 of the surviving crew members from two lifeboats.

A short distance away, the HMS Bounty sank to the bottom of the Atlantic, as Hurricane Sandy marched north.

All of the crew members were wearing orange survival suits with strobe lights designed to keep them afloat, warm and easy to find.

Coast Guard ships continue to searcha 1,300-mile area around the site of the shipwreck for Waldridge, 63. On Tuesday, the Coast Guard reported the water temperature was 77 degrees with 15-foot waves and 42-mph winds.

Even with a survival suit, "it's very problematic" to stay in position in heavy winds and rough seas, Parker said.